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Yojimbo is acquired by visiting the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth, where the player must hire him to become Yuna's aeon. Yojimbo acts as a sword-for-hire and has four different attacks depending on how much the player pays him, as well as a complex mathematical formula based on his worker-employer relationship with Yuna and several other factors. Yojimbo functions similarly to Odin and Gilgamesh from previous Final Fantasy games. His most powerful attack, Zanmato, instantly kills fiends and bosses.

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Yojimbo can be recruited at the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth near the entrance to Mt. Gagazet. Yojimbo will first ask Yuna a question regarding her purpose in trying to acquire his help. Her choice here will affect Yojimbo's behavior in battle and his probability in using his attacks. As for his payment, Yojimbo will initially ask the player for hundreds of thousands of gil but it is possible to haggle with him. To get Yojimbo for the cheapest price, the player must offer him half the gil he is asking for plus one gil in the first two negotiations, and he will decrease his price both times. In the third negotiation, they must offer him 0.700005 times the gil he is asking, closing the deal.

One can decrease the price three times before hiring him. If the player pays Yojimbo triple what he is asking he will give two Teleport Spheres as a token of appreciation. This works even after having "haggled" with him.

With a wave of the summoner's staff, a night-time dimension forms, featuring a single sakura tree in bloom with blue flowers. A bark is heard, and Yojimbo's dog, Daigoro, appears to greet the summoner. Yojimbo emerges from behind the tree, turns with a sweep of his coat and calls upon his dog to start the battle. His victory pose is to make a hand gesture and bow his head.

When Yojimbo is summoned the sound effect is the same as what was used in Final Fantasy VIII as the magic spell effect.

Yojimbo's only options on the field are Pay or Dismiss. At the expense of paying Yojimbo with gil, Yojimbo will personally use these attacks at his discretion:

Daigoro: Yojimbo's dog will attack on his command. As it is his weakest move, Yojimbo will shake his head before using Daigoro, as if to disapprove of the amount of money the party gave him.

Kozuka: Yojimbo throws several kozuka (a special throwing knife made to fit inside a wakizashi's scabbard) at a single target.

Wakizashi: Yojimbo draws a powerful ground rending and air cutting slash that targets single/multiple targets with his wakizashi (his short sword).

Zanmato: Yojimbo calls his katana out of a dark portal in the ground, to which it flies into the air. Catching it and overlooking its quality, Yojimbo then unsheathes it and rushes headlong into opposition, using it to slice all enemies in half. It instantly kills any enemy in the game, with the exceptions of Sin (when fighting face-to-face on the Fahrenheit), Yunalesca and Braska's Final Aeon, which will only move to the next form (unless they have already reached their final form, in which case Zanmato will kill them). If Yojimbo will perform Zanmato he will nod upon receiving the money.

Yojimbo's Overdrive increases the likelihood of his more powerful attacks.

There are several factors that decide what attack Yojimbo will execute:

The base motivation (BM) according to how much he has been paid. The lowest base motivation is 0 if he is paid 1-3 gil and the highest is 112 if he is paid at least 536,870,912 gil. It is much lower in the NTSC version, with the lowest being 0 and the highest being 56.

The compatibility parameter (CP) of Yojimbo to Yuna. It starts at 128 and caps at 255. It increases by 1 or 3 if Yojimbo uses Wakizashi against single or multiple enemies respectively and by 4 if Yojimbo uses Zanmato. It decreases by 20 if he is paid 0 gil; by 10 if he is KO'd during battle; by 3 if he is dismissed immediately after being summoned; and by 1 if he uses Daigoro. It remains unchanged if he uses Kozuka. This compatibility parameter is then divided by 4 in the International, PAL and HD Remaster versions of the game and by 30 in the original Japanese and NTSC versions.

The Zanmato resistance of the enemy. A hidden variable applies depending on the choice Yuna made at Yojimbo's Chamber of the Fayth; asking to be trained as a summoner means that Yojimbo's motivation to use Zanmato will increase if Yuna hands over a greater proportion of her gil per turn; asking for the power to defeat fiends increases the likelihood of a Zanmato against random encounters and asking for the power to defeat the most powerful of enemies slightly reduces the likelihood of a Zanmato against Zanmato Level 1 fiends, while treating Level 4-6 fiends as the same with the same penalty to motivation. If the first or second choice is made, it is either 1, 0.5, 0.33, 0.25, 0.20 or 0.16 for Zanmato levels 1 to 6 respectively. If choice three is made, it is 0.8 for Zanmato level 1 to 3; and 0.4 for Zanmato level 4 to 6. (ZF)

Additionally, if choice one is made, another factor is considered. It is (0.75 + ((amount paid * 0.50)/total gil))). Otherwise, it is 1 (CF).

Whether or not his overdrive gauge was full when he was paid to attack. If it is full, an additional 20 points will be added to his overall motivation in the International, PAL and HD Remaster versions while only 2 will be added in the original Japanese and NTSC versions, otherwise, it is 0. (OF)

A random factor is added to motivation. It is any number from 0 to 63.

$ Motivation = (BM + CP) * ZF * CF + OF + rand(0, 63) $

Considering the formula and the random factor above, if Yojimbo's overall motivation is 80 or greater, he will use Zanmato. In the International, PAL and HD Remaster versions of the game, if the overall motivation is not 80 or higher, a recalculation will be made but the Zanmato level of the enemy will be treated as 1 regardless of its actual Zanmato level.

The resulting new motivation will trigger any of the following:

0 to 31 will prompt Yojimbo to use Daigoro.

31 to 47 will prompt Yojimbo to use Kozuka.

48 to 63 will prompt Yojimbo to use Wakizashi against one target.

64 above will prompt Yojimbo to use Wakizashi against multiple targets.

The same values are considered for the original Japanese and NTSC versions of the game but there are no recalculations if the overall motivation is less than 80. In addition, Yojimbo may also attack without needing to be paid. With a compatibility parameter of 128, he will do so 13(12.5) percent of the time. If his compatibility parameter is 255, he will attack for free 25(24.9) percent of the time. The calculation made for his free attack is much simpler, which is Yojimbo's compatibility parameter divided by 4 plus a random factor from 0 to 63. If he attacks for free and his compatibility parameter is at 255, he is guaranteed to use either Wakizashi or Zanmato.

In short, one should attempt to have a good relationship with Yojimbo, paying him decently (as well as sensibly) and not abusing his servitude, from not paying him anything to abruptly dismissing him immediately after the summon sequence. His relation with Yuna can also be seen through the frequency of his attacks; sending Daigoro is a sign of poor standing, where him using Wakizashi means one is on the right track.

Yojimbo is fought in the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth and at Remiem Temple. A possessed Yojimbo is also fought as part of the final battle.

In the International, PAL and HD Remaster versions, Dark Yojimbo can be fought in the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth after acquiring Yojimbo and re-entering the cave, reaching the end teleport pad and approaching the entrance again.

Yojimbo appears as the final boss of the Kugane Castle dungeon, along with his dog Daigoro. During the fight, he berates his client Kageyama for not paying him enough gold when ordered to kill the Warrior of Light's party. He uses his Zanmato attack several times in the fight, doing more damage to the party based on how much money Daigoro manages to retrieve from the arena. In order to reduce the damage taken from Zanmato, the players can retrieve the coins first. Once his HP runs out, rather than being defeated, Yojimbo simply decides that he's earned his pay and promptly leaves the area.

This article or section is a stub about an enemy in Final Fantasy XIV. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.

Yojimbo appears as a fire-elemental summon. Two versions of Yojimbo are available as signets to equip; Wrieg's version, which teaches Mineuchi abilities, and a stronger version available to Parai, which teaches him Triple Wakizashi Slash abilities. Yojimbo's special attack is Zanmato, which deals moderate fire-elemental damage to all enemies and has a chance to inflict stun.

In the original free-to-play versions, both signets could only be obtained through the summon draw shop.

Yojimbo and the untargetable Daigoro have appeared together as an advanced boss. When fought, he uses his familiar moves from Final Fantasy X. Appearing in Destiny's Path, his defeat was required to obtain Yuna's Memory Crystal II as a First Time Reward. If Lulu is in the fighting party, her exchange with Lady Ginnem will be reenacted at the start of battle.

A figure of Yojimbo was made for the Final Fantasy X Action Figure Collection by ArtFX. Listed as No.2 in the series, the Yojimbo figure comes complete with Zanmato and Wakizashi swords, Kozuka throwing knife and Daigoro, as well as a mountable stand for display. A later version of "Dark Aeon Yojimbo" was released using the same figure mold and accessories, as Final Fantasy X-2 merchandise.

A figure of Yojimbo was also made for the Final Fantasy Master Creatures second set, featuring him slashing with Zanmato as Daigoro is pouncing.

[view·edit·purge]Yojimbo (用心棒) means "bodyguard" in Japanese. The kanji (Japanese characters) can also mean "sword/service for hire", befitting his pay-off system.

When Yuna visits Yojimbo's fayth to hire him as an aeon, he calls himself Yojimbo. Despite this, the player can still rename him.

In the Japanese version of the game, Yojimbo's name is written in kanji as "用心棒" in the subtitle of every conversation, while in the battle scenes, and in the aeon menu, it written in hiragana as "ようじんぼう".

Yojimbo is depicted as a samurai. [view·edit·purge]Samurai were the military nobility of medieval and early-modern Japan. They were not just great swordsmen, but also powerful horse archers and martial artists of other fields. Though their status was that above commoners, samurai were bound to forms of etiquette and a way of life known as Bushido, stressing honor to one's devoted and preparing oneself in the face of death.

When Yuna prays to Yojimbo's fayth in Final Fantasy X, ribbons are briefly shown binding it, which say "SEAL" in Yevon script. On his fayth statue his sword and shield say "Mea Culpa" in Spiran and Yevon scripts.

If the player revisits Yojimbo, the fayth reassures Tidus that he will never be forgotten.

Yojimbo is likely inspired by Ogami Ittō, protagonist of the manga "Lone Wolf and Cub"; a samurai turned killer for hire who travels the countryside with his son, Daigoro.

Look here for a simplified, easy-to-understand mathematical description of Yojimbo and his attacks.

Look here for a more complex, harder to understand, but much more detailed mathematical description of Yojimbo and his attacks (this includes calculations for PAL/International versions of the game as well, along with probability (Percentile) tables for all versions).